Just a day after President Joe Biden announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats successfully raised $100 million through their primary fundraising platform, ActBlue. This platform, which supports Democratic organizations, reported the substantial sum over the last two days, as tracked by Ryan Murphy from The Marshall Project. Although this amount is not formally certified, it reflects fundraising activity ahead of required disclosures.
On Sunday, donors contributed $66.9 million following the launch of Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, marking the highest single-day fundraising total for the upcoming 2024 election cycle on ActBlue. This surpasses a previous high on September 30, 2020, during the first presidential debate between Biden and Trump.
With this surge, ActBlue has now raised a total of $14 billion since its inception two decades ago. In contrast, its Republican counterpart, WinRed, has gathered around $4.3 billion since its start in late 2019.
ActBlue noted a significant number of first-time donors in their recent fundraising efforts. Future Forward, a super PAC supporting Biden, reportedly secured $150 million in new commitments from major contributors within 24 hours of Biden’s announcement and endorsement of Harris. Similarly, Swing Left announced it raised over $160,000 in the same period.
Roger Altman, founder of Evercore, expressed confidence that Harris’s campaign will be well-funded, and prominent Democratic donors like George and Alex Soros have also pledged their support.
Historically, Biden’s strongest fundraising moments occurred after significant political events, including a $28 million boost following a debate defeat against Trump on June 27, and $19.2 million raised after Trump was charged with multiple felony counts. Trump’s campaign, following his conviction, reported a major influx of donations as well, causing temporary disruptions on his campaign website.
From April to June, pro-Biden groups collected $332.4 million compared to $431.2 million by pro-Trump groups, leaving Biden with $281 million available and Trump with $336.2 million at the end of June.